Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness
In the Arctic, multi-year sea ice is being rapidly replaced by seasonal sea ice. Baffin Bay, situated between Greenland and Canada, is part of the seasonal ice zone. In this study, we present a long-term multi-mission assessment (2003–2020) of spring sea ice thickness in Baffin Bay from satellite al...
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ftcopernicus:oai:publications.copernicus.org:tc94467 2023-05-15T15:18:30+02:00 Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness Glissenaar, Isolde A. Landy, Jack C. Petty, Alek A. Kurtz, Nathan T. Stroeve, Julienne C. 2021-10-21 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4909/2021/ eng eng doi:10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4909/2021/ eISSN: 1994-0424 Text 2021 ftcopernicus https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 2021-10-25T16:22:29Z In the Arctic, multi-year sea ice is being rapidly replaced by seasonal sea ice. Baffin Bay, situated between Greenland and Canada, is part of the seasonal ice zone. In this study, we present a long-term multi-mission assessment (2003–2020) of spring sea ice thickness in Baffin Bay from satellite altimetry and sea ice charts. Sea ice thickness within Baffin Bay is calculated from Envisat, ICESat, CryoSat-2, and ICESat-2 freeboard estimates, alongside a proxy from the ice chart stage of development that closely matches the altimetry data. We study the sensitivity of sea ice thickness results estimated from an array of different snow depth and snow density products and methods for redistributing low-resolution snow data onto along-track altimetry freeboards. The snow depth products that are applied include a reference estimated from the Warren climatology, a passive microwave snow depth product, and the dynamic snow scheme SnowModel-LG. We find that applying snow depth redistribution to represent small-scale snow variability has a considerable impact on ice thickness calculations from laser freeboards but was unnecessary for radar freeboards. Decisions on which snow loading product to use and whether to apply snow redistribution can lead to different conclusions on trends and physical mechanisms. For instance, we find an uncertainty envelope around the March mean sea ice thickness of 13 % for different snow depth/density products and redistribution methods. Consequently, trends in March sea ice thickness from 2003–2020 range from − 23 to 17 cm per decade, depending on which snow depth/density product and redistribution method is applied. Over a longer timescale, since 1996, the proxy ice chart thickness product has demonstrated statistically significant thinning within Baffin Bay of 7 cm per decade. Our study provides further evidence for long-term asymmetrical trends in Baffin Bay sea ice thickness (with − 17.6 cm per decade thinning in the west and 10.8 cm per decade thickening in the east of the bay) since 2003. This asymmetrical thinning is consistent for all combinations of snow product and processing method, but it is unclear what may have driven these changes. Text Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Sea ice Copernicus Publications: E-Journals Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland The Cryosphere 15 10 4909 4927 |
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Open Polar |
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Copernicus Publications: E-Journals |
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ftcopernicus |
language |
English |
description |
In the Arctic, multi-year sea ice is being rapidly replaced by seasonal sea ice. Baffin Bay, situated between Greenland and Canada, is part of the seasonal ice zone. In this study, we present a long-term multi-mission assessment (2003–2020) of spring sea ice thickness in Baffin Bay from satellite altimetry and sea ice charts. Sea ice thickness within Baffin Bay is calculated from Envisat, ICESat, CryoSat-2, and ICESat-2 freeboard estimates, alongside a proxy from the ice chart stage of development that closely matches the altimetry data. We study the sensitivity of sea ice thickness results estimated from an array of different snow depth and snow density products and methods for redistributing low-resolution snow data onto along-track altimetry freeboards. The snow depth products that are applied include a reference estimated from the Warren climatology, a passive microwave snow depth product, and the dynamic snow scheme SnowModel-LG. We find that applying snow depth redistribution to represent small-scale snow variability has a considerable impact on ice thickness calculations from laser freeboards but was unnecessary for radar freeboards. Decisions on which snow loading product to use and whether to apply snow redistribution can lead to different conclusions on trends and physical mechanisms. For instance, we find an uncertainty envelope around the March mean sea ice thickness of 13 % for different snow depth/density products and redistribution methods. Consequently, trends in March sea ice thickness from 2003–2020 range from − 23 to 17 cm per decade, depending on which snow depth/density product and redistribution method is applied. Over a longer timescale, since 1996, the proxy ice chart thickness product has demonstrated statistically significant thinning within Baffin Bay of 7 cm per decade. Our study provides further evidence for long-term asymmetrical trends in Baffin Bay sea ice thickness (with − 17.6 cm per decade thinning in the west and 10.8 cm per decade thickening in the east of the bay) since 2003. This asymmetrical thinning is consistent for all combinations of snow product and processing method, but it is unclear what may have driven these changes. |
format |
Text |
author |
Glissenaar, Isolde A. Landy, Jack C. Petty, Alek A. Kurtz, Nathan T. Stroeve, Julienne C. |
spellingShingle |
Glissenaar, Isolde A. Landy, Jack C. Petty, Alek A. Kurtz, Nathan T. Stroeve, Julienne C. Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
author_facet |
Glissenaar, Isolde A. Landy, Jack C. Petty, Alek A. Kurtz, Nathan T. Stroeve, Julienne C. |
author_sort |
Glissenaar, Isolde A. |
title |
Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
title_short |
Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
title_full |
Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
title_fullStr |
Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in Baffin Bay early spring sea ice thickness |
title_sort |
impacts of snow data and processing methods on the interpretation of long-term changes in baffin bay early spring sea ice thickness |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4909/2021/ |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Sea ice |
op_source |
eISSN: 1994-0424 |
op_relation |
doi:10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/4909/2021/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-4909-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
10 |
container_start_page |
4909 |
op_container_end_page |
4927 |
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1766348696849481728 |